Upcoming film inspired by Asian-American director's experiences growing up in Winder
Filmmaker Jeremy Thao knows that good food is often the catalyst for good conversation. And when it comes to uncomfortable subjects like race and racism, breaking bread together can be an important first step in opening up meaningful and much-needed discussions.
Thao’s personal history with cuisine served as the inspiration for his debut movie, “Wok Man,” which will be shooting this summer. Currently an Athens resident, Thao’s family moved from Fresno, California to Winder, Georgia when he was 12. His experiences as an Asian-American provided the basis for the semi-autobiographical short.
“(My dad) moved us to Georgia to be a part of the first wave of grocery stores selling sushi,” Thao told the Banner-Herald. “He and my uncle were some of the first sushi chefs in Publix in the late 1990s and early 2000s.”
Describing the culture shock he experienced in Winder as “intense for a kid.” Thao went from attending a richly diverse school in Fresno to being in the minority as a member of the Hmong Asian ethnic group. Thao said that racism was something that he experienced, but that he and his family never talked about.
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wokman_full_pitch_video (New Wav).mp4.mov from jthao22 on Vimeo.
Jeremy Thao wins the Film Impact Georgia grant
After spending four years sitting on the idea for a movie based on his experience, Thao applied for and won the Film Impact Georgia grant in spring 2021. The grant provided $5,000 toward helping “Wok Man” get made.
Thao’s crowdfunding campaign to complete production funds has reached more than half of its goal since it began on May 30, 2022. He said the first contributions came from friends, classmates and teachers from Winder.
“Winning the grant has been amazing because I began (connecting) with so many Asian American creatives around (Georgia),” said Thao. “I'd been so disconnected from that community, and they've given me such grace and showered me with support. It’s been awesome.”
When doing research for “Wok Man,” which takes place inside a Chinese restaurant and centers on the owner Sam Li (Kurt Yue) and his son Andy (Corey Jung), Thao read about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, a law passed by congress that placed a 10-year ban on Chinese laborers immigrating to the United States. One of the few exceptions was for restaurant employees, which resulted in a boom in Chinese restaurants all over America.
In “Wok Man,” Andy witnesses for the first time how his parents are treated on a daily basis by customers, and he begins to see that in order for his father to chase the American dream, Sam has to work a job he doesn't want to do. Thao calls the film “a love letter” to his own family, but said that it is also an “act of resistance” toward the idea that becoming a filmmaker isn’t a legitimate career ambition.
“Myself and a lot of children of immigrants and refugees feel like we had to grow up a little bit too quickly,” said Thao. “This story is a spotlight on voices and people who have traditionally been thought of as too boring or not worthy of the silver screen.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Winder director's film inspired by Asian-American childhood experience
